Final Draft 7 is a traditional screenwriting program, and it's very very very good at it. Lots of features that are very helpful.

I have used a number of different programs over the years, and this is my favorite.

I bought Final Draft AV because I thought it would work well for writing commercials. It is a two-column program, with one column for video and one for audio. It never clicked for me and I went back to FD7.

I'll be happy to sell you my copy of FX-AV for a really good price.

Check out www.sophocles.net I love this writing program

Screenwriter looks nice -- cheaper than final draft also

I've got both Final Draft and Screenwriter. Both are great programs and have their strengths / weaknesses. Screenwriter fits seamlessly into Movie Magic Scheduling which we use often to breakdown scripts.

If you're writing to share files with another writer, Final Draft is used by more people and probably is the best software to consider. Screenwriter is great as is Sophocles. What you need to look at are what files you can save to. Each program offeres different options which may or may not work in your advantage.

Mike

This is now OT, and I hope no one takes offense to this link, but the Tom Clancy Plot Generator might be all of the script writing program you need!

Scroll down towards the bottom, funny stuff:

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=five_shitty_movies

Cheno is right, FD and Screenwriter are the two major contenders for drama screenwriting. There are other programs to help with character development etc.

Screenwriter is $159 at Amazon.com (or $30 more at CompUSA!).
I used an early version of this program nearly 10 years ago and really hated it, but it looks like they have come a really long way.

Final Draft 7 is $189.99 at Amazon.com (I paid $149 at the NAB store for mine, with the Syd Field DVD training even, this was less expensive than upgrading!).

my main concerns are import/export to word

save to PDF

I think FD does all that

I've downloaded a demo and if it does the import/export I want it seems like a cheap investment to convert our scripts into something we might shop around

"Why do you need to import or export the script into Word??? Besides, Screenwriter imports eight different text formats. Final Draft only imports two. To the best of my knowledge, no word processing program--screenplay or otherwise--will save the document as a PDF file. Either program can/will if you have Acrobat install on your computer.

I run many businesses and 'Word' as well as PDF is the standard way we communicate. I'm from the real 'business world' remember, even though you think I've done 'nothing'.

Our first five projects were done using 'Word'.

I have many more scripts in Word, so they need to be 'imported' into any Script program I decide upon. So far FD is garbage on it's 'import' feature. THEY DON'T IMPORT Word files even thought they say they do.

FD's idea of 'importing a Word file' is to save the Word file in .txt or .rtf and then you can 'open' it.

That is a joke and from what I've seen of FD, my opinion as someone with over 30 years of programming experience and over 20 years of running software companies is a new start up should be formed to take over the script writing market. FD is a weak program and it doesnt' do what they say it does.

As to PDF, of course we have it, however, I wanted to make sure the program could create PDF, most word processors can just through the print command if you force it through the distiller or PDF print control as long as it is a recent Windows compatible program.

Anyway, I don't like FD from a technical point of view, and I think we might just end up using a template made for Word.

Personally I think the demand to have continued at the bottom of pages is BS, I think a simple word document with just the proper layout is fine. Capitalize Characters in dialogue, put instructions first in a scene as to camera and background or setting. Indent dialogue to seperate from instructions. Use the jargon the industry expects.

I think most writers could just use Word with a few rules such as capitalize characters names in dialog headers and indent dialogue and few other things and produce scripts that most in the industry will think were close enough to be read without saying OH NO THEY DON'T HAVE CONTINUED AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGES and reject the script out of hand.

FD is over blown in my opinion from what I've seen. It doesn't import Word docs.

Once I saw that I laughed and removed it from my computer.

I also made a mental note, look for a start up that wants to do a real program for Script Writing that can actually 'import' the number one file in the world.

I could sell a ton of product just showing a real 'import capability' of a script program.

The site will say DON'T BE FOOLED by what some call an 'industry standard'. Other programs that say they can 'import' your scripts already written in Word, CAN NOT DO IT. We can.

Try to IMPORT a WORD DOC into X, Y and Z programs. They don't do it.

Don't you want a program that can take your 'scripts' from Word and use them correctly in a script program?

How many newbies start out using 'word' before they find out there is a format to scripts that most people in the biz expect? I'd say most of the people coming to FD as a new writer.

So people in the biz use FD for the most part. If they knew they could do real imports from Word you think experienced FD users wouldn't switch? Or do you think a newbie who has a script in word couldn't be sold on compatibility to 'word' as a key reason to buy a new program.

The reason I had the largest market share in a certain industry I developed a niche program for was I KNEW MY COMPETITION. I trained my sales team to tell potential clients, here is our competition, in this state we have 300 clients, they have 30, yet they're a 'major company'. When you see their demo look at this and that, then remember how we do this or that. Then you decide what is the easiest way to do it.

The same with FD, now that I've seen it, I'm amazed at how bad it is from a technical point of view. I could create a simple on-line demonstration of what is wrong with FD and sell most people a new product that just does 'importing' correctly.

It reminds me of the old days when databases were all talking about importing data etc.

A few could and the others, well it made you dance and waste time, exactly what FD is doing now.

I guess the market isn't that big for a real script program, since if it was, FD would have been much better than it is. That's what happens when you don't have competition.

Anyway, import and PDF are major concerns for me and most people that are using .doc and .pdf files in their communication flow. I guess you don't have others in the loop or you wouldn't have asked why import of word and creation of PDF is so important.

Please don't respond to my threads anymore, you think I don't known anything and I find your responses to be aimed at harassing me.

One more thing, how are scripts moved around the industry if FD can't export to a real .doc file? Does every potential person involved in financing or creating a project all have FD so they can receive FD files to review? You think all actors or investors have FD installed so they can see a file from FD? PDF is great, but some don't know what a PDF file is. Most people using computers today know what a .doc file is, so I think export to .doc format is a plus if you are showing your script to others that probably don't have FD.

Or is the whole industry still sending paper around?

You have a script it needs to be in a file format that as many people can use IMHO.

PDF is good but .doc is much more accepted in general file sharing in business.

I do deals all the time where I say do you want the paperwork in PDF or .doc, most say .doc.

In the IT world ease of communication is the key, how does the paperwork flow in your business and to clients. PDF is good, but most use .doc

That being said why can't FD really import a .doc file or create one?

Because it's a badly written program.

What do I know, you think I'm making this all up.

Again, please don't respond to my threads, you've already expressed your 'opinion' about me. You called me a liar and I have no time for you.

Page2Stage is a great program, much cheaper and exports to RTF (not .doc, but still "readable" by anybody).

Here you have a couple of links to nice free script writing software:

http://www.mindstarprods.com/cinergy/scripteditor.html

http://www.rsalsbury.co.uk/rd_download.htm

Jay spewed, "Too, I will respond to anyone in any thread that is spouting off and shoveling crap onto this board. If you're half the successful media tycoon you claim to be, then, by all means, put me to shame, shut me up, prove me wrong, give us all some hard facts and/or details that can be verified as to all your (so far) empty boastings."


You're Good Dog Productions right?

So you think this is 'cutting edge' video?

http://www.gooddogproductions.com/media/Fairchild_Clip_Medium.wmv

Pleae don't respond to my threads.

If you're sending a script to others via e-mail, you don't want to send it out in FD or Word or any other editable format, unless it's for collaboration in which case you want a format that can merge changes.

I have been sending out PDF documents commercially since 1998, and there were only a small handful of people who didn't know this format. This is what the industry expects and gets, except for collaboration or the many cases when they absolutely want a paper copy for review (because it's faster to read).

Screenwriter started out as macro package for Word, and it was no fun when editing afterwards. A dedicated script program has features for printing index cards, tallying talent pages, creating scene-by-scene printouts ready to be handed off to a DP, AD or production designer, I found this really helps preproduction planning.

If you're sending a script to others via e-mail, you don't want to send it out in FD or Word or any other editable format, unless it's for collaboration in which case you want a format that can merge changes.

My experience on the five film/docs we just finished is:

1. Writer(s) send files back and forth to talent (in this case narrator) and editors making changes and such, so source is key for in-house changes in our case.

2. I can see PDF being a small obstacle to people that are not computer mavens, so .doc is an answer if I wanted to send something to a person with little computer experience who might be interested in seeing a script, let's say he owns a business for many years and wants to use our production company for a commercial. You start talking PDF to a person who still uses paper and pen in their business as they have for years and the person gets lost. What is common for many today (PDF) is still uncommon to many.

I never assume anyone has computer skills to any great degree based on over 20 years of dealing with the public using very simple programs we developed over the years. Anyway, .doc would be nice to me since that is our work program now and I can't see everyone having to get FD or whatever to work on projects in-house, however, I was looking at programs for 'outside' needs, maybe shopping scripts around etc. As long as PDF is the current file people expect, then there might be no need for us to use anything other than Word. Scripts have a handful of basic format needs, if we follow that in Word, I think the scripts will be okay to pass around without FD format.

I still haven't decided either way, but if I send out a few of our scripts using only Word and don't get complaints, then I'll tell everyone here that Word is fine if you use the basic structure of a script ie. indent dialogue, capitalize characters in Dialogue, etc.

I personally find the use of 'continued' annoying at the bottom of most pages.

IGNORE on jay gladwell

I miss Zippy.